Andrea V
“Off with her head!” I never would have imagined that thought would
ever cross my mind. Only kings had the benefit of saying those words. Like Alice in Wonderland, I would later be sentenced
to a similar fate, saved only by the hands of God. I believe only the lucky ones escape this destiny.
Who would have thought that my executioner could have been an invisible sharp
nylon string?
Like most days at the beach, it was a radiant day. I gathered up my sister and my cousin to begin
the adventure. I was filled with excitement. The winds were stirring, and there
was different feeling about this day. The
four wheel red color was fiery against
the sand, and the shining black wheels made it look as if the shadows were
running alongside us. At the time we
arrived at the beach, there was no one around. We were singing loudly to one of
those catchy pop songs, that are one time hits.
Once we passed the hills, the scenery changed and we
felt as if we were in our own fantastic land.
I speeded up because we wanted to reach the dunes. Halfway though, I accelerated
because we had to make it home before noon. We saw some fishermen along the
coast, paying close attention to their rods. They nodded as we slowly passed by
.After a while I resumed to a quick pace. Wind was blowing in my face. Near a
grassy hill, were the sand is elevated, there were two men sitting on top. They were waving and screaming something but
I couldn’t tell what they were saying. We were too far to hear. I
couldn’t see their faces either; the sun was blocking my eyes, and the people
seemed blurry to me. I couldn’t see what
was on top of the hill until I got close.
As we got near,
I noticed their alarmed looks, but it was too late. I saw the nylon string just in time to raise
my hand .Thankfully, my sister and my cousin behind me ducked. In an instant I felt a sharp stinging pain
around my neck. If I hadn’t put my hand up that would have been my face. The
man with the nylon rod tried lifting it up, but he wasn’t fast enough. If he
hadn’t reacted, I could have gotten a larger scar or even slashed my jugular
vein. Instead of stopping, I drove until we reached a safe distance. I later checked on the passengers to see if
they were fine. They were all right, but I wasn’t. I kept going
towards the dunes, when I felt the stinging sensation again. I stopped, and then reached for the area that
was affected with my hand. As I placed my hand to my neck, I felt a sticky
substance. I looked at my hand and saw blood.
I pretended to be all right, and acted normal. I was afraid to over
react and make my sister scared. I asked my cousin to switch to the driving
seat, and we headed back home.
I think that if I hadn’t put my hand, and if one of the guys hadn’t
raised the nylon string, I am sure I would have been beheaded. That’s when I
started thinking about the queen from Alice saying, “Off with your head.” I was
afraid to believe that I could have shared their similar fate. Thankfully I
escaped unsheathed by a rabbit’s hair. It traumatized me for a while, the
thought of how fast I could have lost my life. It felt so surreal how seconds
ago, I had a near death experience. I didn’t know how grateful I was to be
living until I went through something like this. These experiences open your eyes, and show you
all the possibilities you have to live the life you want, and act however you want.
I make my decisions seriously because I
know that there is only one chance to create the life you desire. If not what
else would you be left with after you die? Nothing but compiled memories of
events, and things you did. “Life's
but a walking shadow, a poor player, that struts and frets his hour upon the
stage, and then is heard no more; it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound
and fury, signifying nothing.”- William Shakespeare. I want to be able to live without regrets for not
doing what I wanted and to make my own decisions. My advice is to take life
seriously, because you never know when it might be taken away and there is only
one life granted for a person. You only live once, so think wisely.
